!! Y E A R B O O K ! " ! # materials to preserving embodied carbon and promoting sustainable practice in the sector. As building owners, management companies, developers and stakeholders seek to reach new levels of energy e%ciency in all buildings (not just domestic ones), this can impact on the character, integrity and significance of our built and historic environment. Any impact needs to be carefully considered and managed. It is essential that practitioners in the field of historic building conservation are aware of new approaches and technologies in the context of retrofit and other sustainability and energy e%ciency measures. In particular, they need to understand how these approaches relate to traditional and historic buildings in terms of their construction, materials, character, setting and overall significance. This applies to both statutorily protected buildings and traditional buildings which are not formally o!ered legislative protection in their own right. Ill-informed retrofit measures to traditional dwellings for example, may not only harm the appearance and/ or significance of the asset but also its thermal performance, e%ciency and user comfort. Likewise, the installation of renewable energy sources, such as PV panels, can have a detrimental impact upon character and setting, both individually and cumulatively, which needs to be carefully assessed, and where possible, mitigated. Meanwhile, greater awareness around the technology behind traditional construction and the importance of conserving the embodied carbon present in historic buildings, is key in order to move away from the myth that traditional and historic buildings and sites are ine%cient. We should instead encourage the adaptive reuse and retrofit of buildings, where possible and appropriate, in order to inform a more sustainable approach to development and placemaking. The IHBC recognises its role, alongside key partners, in making information and knowledge available to its existing membership and beyond, in a form that is accessible and relevant. We are thereby enabling practitioners to develop their expertise and confidence when interacting with schemes and facilitating informed decision making across the sector, in what is becoming an increasingly technical and challenging field. With this in mind, the IHBC Annual School provides a unique opportunity for members to attend a variety of CPD training sessions over the course of a few days, in-person or virtually, and develop their own knowledge and skills around a specific theme. This year’s annual school, hosted in Swansea, takes an in-depth look at resilience and performance in the context of climate change and the historic environment. Alongside the Annual School, the relaunch of the branch CPD training pilot, a programme which seeks to work in partnership with local branches to deliver CPD events on priority areas, such as retrofit, has been our priority. The CPD pilot was set up initially back in "#&' and had just got underway when the pandemic struck. The resulting lockdown meant that the project, which was delivered exclusively through in person events, had to be put on hold. Over the last six months, the pilot project has recommenced. This began with a launch event for local branches in January which provided a wonderful opportunity to meet representatives from nearly every branch across Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and England. The initiative seeks to complement existing branch CPD programmes by providing funding towards the costs of CPD training days, with an expert speaker in three key priority areas; curtilage and historic building legislation, conservation engineering and retrofit. The pilot has received positive feedback to date, and several branches have begun the process of arranging their own local branch CPD pilot events. To accompany the launch, a dedicated training webpage was created, providing easy access to further information for the CPD pilot, including details of the current priority CPD topics. As the page took shape it also provided an opportunity to signpost users to other existing A poorly considered array of PV panels and rooflights peppering the roof of a building and, on the right, a new plastic window which fails to match either the character of the original sash window or its capacity for ventilation
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